Media coverage resulting from the press conference at this point seems to be focused on the fact that criminal activity has not been ruled out as a cause of this incident. Officials emphasized the fact that the investigation is still ongoing. ARA will continue to monitor developments regarding this investigation.

Golf cart (battery powered, able to cause a fire) in the seed and fertilizer building.

Intentionally set fire.

Note: The Texas Rangers and McLennan County Sheriff’s Office last week opened a criminal investigation into the blast. So far, officials have revealed no connection between Bryce Reed’s arrest and the opening of the criminal investigation. Although they are not able to rule that possibility out at this time.

Additional Notes Regarding the Facility and the Investigation

These points were also reported during yesterday’s news conference:

The missing persons list from the explosion is now zero. No individuals are unaccounted for at this time.

More than 28 other agencies are also investigating the incident.

The origin of fire was determined to be in the fertilizer and seed building.

The fire sparked two explosions that were “milliseconds” apart. This was recorded by a seismograph.

As the fire caused the temperature to increase, pressure increased and the AN sensitivity to shock increased. Debris falling on the AN also could have led to explosion.

28-34 Tons of AN exploded, equivalent to 15,000 – 20,000 lbs of TNT.

An additional 20-30 tons of AN was in building and did not explode.

100 tons of AN on a rail car nearby also did not explode.

It is estimated that 150 tons of AN were on site at time of incident, less than the 270 tons reported on the Tier 2 report.

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